DIARY OF VALERIA - THE WRATH OF GAKUD

Chapter 4 - Don't Be Weird

The rest of the night shift was uneventful, meaning, Martin was out of sight and I didn't say I was disappointed, well I was. But calls came by the dozen and I only had a breath interval until the next call came in and most of the concerns were billing problems. I buried myself into work and as the clock struck 6AM, I was already taking my last call, ready to end the day. I love my job but when you are talking for 8 hours straight, it is kinda draining. I couldn't wait to leave and go home and call it a day but then Mitch wasn't having it. She still wanted to go to Starbucks after work to unwind since it was already the weekend and we didn't have work later tonight. It was hard to say no to Mitch, she would find ways to get what she wanted. She was sort of like Albert in the stubbornness department. I decided to come along since I've got all the weekend to take my rest. Good thing Cristi wasn't in the mood for a team meeting so we were free to go the minute we shut our computer down.

Mitch was busy texting while we were waiting for the elevator. I kinda knew who she was texting with, it was probably Trixie, the petite girl with blond highlight hair from another team. She'd been exchanging messages with Trixie for a couple of days now and Mitch was relentless to take her out on a date. Mitch was trendy in jogger pants and sneakers and printed shirt with a windbreaker on top. I saw her blushed and smiling like an idiot so I kinda assumed it was indeed Trixie. When she looked at me, her face reverted and her brows furrowed as if she was annoyed that I caught her having a moment.

"What?" She scowled.

"Nothing, I was just..." I said, trying to swallow a laugh that was threatening to come out. But I wasn't good at hiding my feelings and learned that a long time ago. So I looked at Mitch once again with a restrained smile.

"So, did she say yes?" I teased.

"Who?"

"You know, that girl named Trixie? You've been giggling like a girl in a doll house." I said gagging.

"Shut up Isaiah!" She blurted.

"So I'm suddenly Isaiah now huh Michelle?" I was literally laughing quietly while people were piling up in the lobby, also waiting for the elevator to come.

"Call me that again and I'm gonna kill you!" She threatened but she wasn't really pissed.

I snorted and held both of my hands up to surrender. Finally the elevator arrived and all of us crammed inside. Mitch and I were standing at the front so when the elevator door opened, we were unfortunately pushed inside until we hit the elevator wall. Now how could you breathe in this situation? The answer is you don't. You needed to hold your breath until you reached ground floor unless you're comfortable breathing with people in close range. But before the elevator door closed, a voice came asking to wait for him. My heart thumped when I heard the voice for I knew who owned it. As I expected, Martin appeared in front of us and squeezed himself inside. I was average in height and that only meant one thing, he was taller than I was so I could literally see the back of his head from where I was standing. Damn it! I was looking how perfectly shape his head was and it bothered me. It was getting ridiculous, this infatuation. With my thoughts running in my head like crazy, I didn't notice Mitch watching me and following my gaze. She groaned to catch my attention and when I did, I saw her raised her eyebrows while her lips formed a thin line. I hated her for being so perceptive and it was obvious that she caught me of guard. Now it was out in the open. I knew her, she would not stop until I spilled the beans.

The elevator ping right on time. The door opened and the people heaving inside sighed in relief as we disembarked gradually. I was afraid that if we stayed there any longer I would start hyperventilating. I wasn't claustrophobic but being inside a tiny box of a room with a lot of breathing individuals was suffocating enough. Mitch and I were the last to exit and no matter how I tried to ignore my friend, I could feel the weight of her stare and the question that was hanging in the air. She wouldn't just let this go. As we stepped outside the building, the warmth breeze of Eastwood city brushed my face and I winced. God I hate summer! The feeling of uneasiness, the sweating and the distinct smell in the air were everything that I didn't like about summer. Probably for someone who lived in the Metro. I could only think of the beach during this heat season. The long stretch of nothing but sand dunes, seashells and the endless horizon of clear blue seas. I wished I was in Boracay at this moment but no, I was sour-graping and I knew it. I was in the Metro and all I had to do was to suck it in and deal with it. As the year progressed and the threat of global warming was getting worse, I knew that I was bracing for something worse. The weather was just transitioning and what I was feeling wasn't the worst of it, the heat would burn the country to higher degree when summer came and that was a known fact.